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Common cold
Foods to avoid for colds and coughs
For patients with colds and coughs, it is essential to be cautious about certain foods in daily life, which are best avoided. For example, spicy, greasy, raw, cold, and stimulating foods should be avoided. Also, carbonated beverages, strong tea, coffee, or alcoholic drinks should be avoided to prevent worsening the cold and cough symptoms. Additionally, some tropical fruits like mango, durian, longan, and lychee should also be avoided. These fruits are warm in nature and may exacerbate phlegm production, aggravating the cold and cough. During a cold and cough, it is advisable to eat a bland diet, such as properly consuming apples, pears, bananas, grapefruits, and oranges. It's also important to drink plenty of water, which can help soothe the throat.
Is a bacterial cold a wind-heat cold?
Bacterial colds, presenting with clinical symptoms such as fever, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, and sometimes yellow nasal discharge, along with coughing. For patients with simple bacterial colds experiencing these symptoms, these clinical manifestations alone cannot distinguish between a Wind-Heat cold and a Wind-Cold cold. It is known that the differentiation between Wind-Heat and Wind-Cold colds is based on the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine and cannot be determined from the perspective of bacterial infection. Therefore, clinically, it is often not possible to differentiate bacterial colds based on these symptoms alone.
Can I eat eggs when I have a cold?
From a modern medical perspective, patients with a cold can totally eat eggs. Eating eggs will not affect the cold and is actually beneficial. A cold is a type of infectious disease, specifically, a common acute upper respiratory tract infection that can cause the body to consume resources, including water and nutrients such as proteins. Eggs are a high-quality source of protein and are very rich in nutrients. Therefore, eating eggs does not worsen the symptoms of a cold. In fact, the nutrients in eggs are a very beneficial supplement to counteract the depletion caused by the illness. Therefore, if cold patients have a good appetite, they can eat eggs and are encouraged to eat more eggs.
How long does it take for a cold to heal by itself?
In clinical practice, colds are often caused by a decrease in the patient's immune function, accidental exposure to cold, or infection by viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens resulting in nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing. Typically, colds can be cured within about a week through timely medical treatment. Clinically, about 80% or even more of cold cases are primarily due to viral infections. General mild viral colds belong to self-limiting diseases and can heal by themselves within about a week. Therefore, for cold patients, even if these symptoms appear, patients with relatively good immune functions may not require medical treatment and can recover on their own.
Will you catch a cold from sweating and being in the wind?
For patients, will sweating and being exposed to wind cause a cold? This is certainly possible, especially after sweating a lot. Therefore, it is crucial to stay warm, especially when sweating a lot, and to hydrate well. If necessary, it's best to visit the internal medicine department for a complete examination. For example, after checking for trace elements, treatment can be adjusted accordingly to address the symptoms. It is also important to rest, pay attention to diet, eat less spicy and stimulating food, avoid sitting or standing for long periods, adjust your mindset, maintain a good mood, and go for regular check-ups.
Does having a low body temperature make it easier to catch a cold?
Patients with low body temperature are prone to catching colds. These patients generally exhibit physical weakness and poor resistance, making them more susceptible to other diseases. Therefore, patients with low body temperature should first go to a hospital for further related examinations, such as blood routine tests, liver and kidney function tests, thyroid function tests, adrenal cortex function, and urinalysis. Once the condition is diagnosed, appropriate measures should be taken based on the results to alleviate the condition. Also, for those with a physically weak constitution and low body temperature, it is important to strengthen exercise, enhance nutrition, and improve physical fitness in order to reduce the occurrence of illnesses.
Can a baby with a rash and a cold take cold medicine?
If children exhibit symptoms of a cold during a rash, it is acceptable to administer purely traditional Chinese medicine for colds. A rash is a type of viral infection, and in the case of viral infections such as sudden rash in infants, it is advisable to give antiviral medication to the child. During the period when the child has both a rash and a cold, it is important to enhance care for the child. For babies older than six months, their diet should include more fresh vegetables and fruits, and avoid greasy or spicy foods. It is necessary to keep the air in the room fresh, ventilate for two hours daily, protect the child from drafts, and ensure the room temperature does not drop below 26°C.
Can you eat peaches when you have a cold?
People with colds can eat peaches. For those suffering from a cold, eating some fruits such as peaches, apples, and pears can be beneficial for their condition. Patients with a cold should also pay attention to maintaining a light diet, drinking plenty of water, ensuring sufficient sleep, and avoiding staying up late. These general measures may gradually help the patient recover. However, it is also important to note that some patients with prominent cold symptoms may need to use cold medicines for symptomatic treatment. These medications can help alleviate symptoms and reduce discomfort, which is beneficial for the patient. It is also important to monitor the patient's condition as some individuals with a cold may develop complications, such as acute sinusitis or rhinitis. Therefore, if cold symptoms persist, it is necessary to visit a hospital promptly to investigate the cause.
What color is the tongue coating for a wind-heat cold?
Wind-heat cold is a common syndrome in Chinese medicine clinics. Generally, at the onset of a wind-heat cold, the tongue coating is usually a mixture of yellow and white. By the mid-stage, the tongue coating generally appears slightly yellow. If accompanied by damp evil, the coating is relatively thick and greasy, which is referred to as a yellow, thick, and greasy coating. If it progresses to the later stages and the heat symptoms become severe, the coating then presents as scorched yellow or even scorched black. These are the colors of the tongue coating exhibited in cases of wind-heat cold.
Where to apply moxibustion for a cold and cough?
Cold and cough are common symptoms in clinical practice. We can alleviate these symptoms by moxibustion on certain acupuncture points. We can perform moxibustion at Lieque, Chize, and Taiyuan acupuncture points to achieve the effects of dispelling wind and cold, and removing pathogens to stop coughing. Of course, depending on the condition of the patient, we can select acupuncture points based on differential diagnosis. For example, if the patient is more affected by wind-heat, we can also perform moxibustion at Dazhui and possibly at Quchi. If wind-cold is more severe, we can perform moxibustion at Fengmen. In cases of dry-heat cough, we need to be careful not to perform moxibustion for too long. Since there is already dry heat, prolonged moxibustion can damage the body fluids. Generally, we perform moxibustion at Yinlingquan to achieve a nourishing effect on the yin and alleviate the symptoms of dry heat.